The Cruel Prince is book one of the new Folk of the Air series by Holly Black. I have really enjoyed Black’s Magisterium series of books (co-authored with The Mortal Instruments‘ Cassandra Clare and reviewed by GeekMom Dakster), so when it was announced that Holly Black was putting out a new young adult book series I was keen to give it a try.

In this series opener, 17-year-old Jude and her twin sister, Taryn, are mortals living in Faerie with the family of Faerie General Madoc, the murderer of Jude and Taryn’s parents back when they were only seven. Jude desperately wants to belong in Faerie despite many of the fey despising mortals, particularly the youngest son of the High King, Price Cardan, who delights in bullying and humiliating the two girls.

When the High King, Eldred, announces he is to abdicate, Jude is drawn into the political machinations of the High Court of Faerie as the High King’s children position themselves to be named as successor to the throne. Forced to make dangerous alliances, Jude must face deceptions, betrayal, and murder to save herself, her sisters, and Faerie itself.

Holly Black is well known as “The Queen of the Faeries” having written the popular Spiderwick Chronicles and the Tithe trilogy. She puts this previous writing experience to good use to create a vivid faerie world, held together by a dark twisting plot of court intrigue, secrets, romance, spying, and bloodshed. Jude is a human girl out of place: a vulnerable heroine who must overcome her fears to protect her family in the face of cruel and malicious treatment because she is a mortal.

The Cruel Prince is more of a slow burn thriller than a fast-paced action story, but the author structures her chapters well to leave you eager to find out how the reveals and cliffhangers play out. Fans of Holly Black’s previous writings will love this book and newcomers to Black who have an interest in faerie themes with a dark, malicious twist will find much to enjoy. I will be looking out for the second book in the Folk of the Air series, The Wicked King, when it is published in 2019.

Totally loved the Cruel Prince! The only thing I was worried about was that I wasn't sure I'd get into the story, as everything is written in the present tense, which is weird to read as I'm not used to that. But as the story progressed, that was no longer an issue. The premise was extremely intriguing and the cover did it for me. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to read this fascinating book!
The main character is a fierce human girl who has to find her way in the fearie world, by any means necessary. Her adventures are wicked and dangerous but her wits and strength guide her through everything. I loved how bullying was part of this book as well. We don't often get themes addressed which are important to the teens and YA of today in fantasy stories, at least not to this extent. That's a BIG plus for this book. The historic/medievalist elements were well incorporated in the over-all story. That was really important to me as I study medieval literature and culture.
Can't wait for the second part! <3

Holly Black is the queen of all the fae. She co-wrote the AMAZING series of The Spiderwick Chronicles with Tony DiTerlizzi and then she went on to write amazing books such as The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and The Darkest Part of the Forest. So when I was sent this book by the publisher, I had majorly high expectations going into it and I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

I really really enjoyed this book. I love her writing style, I love her characters, I love her fae creations, I just loved it all. Apart from one thing... And this is a little bit spoilery, so if you don't want any spoilers, just skip the rest of this paragraph. So basically, there's this very very horrible character called Prince Cardan and he treats Jude with so much contempt it is just disgusting. But guess what, guys? Turns out that he's treating her like dirt because HE ACTUALLY LIKES HER! LIKE... HAS FEELINGS FOR HER. It takes me back to the days of my childhood where little girls were told boys bully them because they like them. It's just wrong. I'm sorry but I just don't agree with that and I kind of expected more from Holly Black...





“If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.”

― Holly Black, The Cruel Prince





Ok, rant over. Excluding the point above, I absolutely loved this book. The beginning was just amazing and in true Holly Black style, she spent the next couple hundred pages building the tension and giving us more information about the characters. There was blood and gore and rivalry and it was just amazing. There was so much depth to the characters which made me love them (and I even felt bad for the villains at times - except for Cardan, I pretty much hated him the whole way through).

This book has the just the right amount of drama, death, surprises, and romance which makes the novel so compelling and I can't wait for the next book to come out! I don't think we have a date yet for when the sequel is out but I JUST CAN'T WAIT! It's going to be amazing.

I'm glad to be reading Holly Black's books again. I forgot how amazing she is at her job and I can't wait to read the book again!

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.



This is honestly the best fantasy book I’ve read in quite some time, reminding me of why I love this genre so much and proving that yes, fantasy can be original, complex, and avoid tropes and themes that seem to be all over the genre.

First of all, I have to say that I love Faeries and the Fey folk; they are some of my favourite creatures in fantasy novels. They seem so ethereal, so magical that they make me feel like a little child again. But, they are also cunning, manipulative, and untrustworthy, which gives the author the chance to make a complex story, with morally ambiguous characters; and that’s exactly what Black did.

Black’s Faerie world is a highly political one. The characters’ motives are political and often self-serving and the characters themselves are power-hungry and manipulative, liars, thieves, cons, and murderers. There is no good-vs-bad guys here; most of the characters fall somewhere in the middle and they are that more interesting for it. It was particularly refreshing to have a female main that was unlike any other. Jude was also power-hungry, willing to deceive and lie to achieve her goals – whether they be self-serving or not – and it was nice to steer clear from the perfectly good girl idea for a change.

The twists and turns of the story, the unexpected paths Black puts her characters in, the secrets, the lies, and the schemes, combined with compelling, untrustworthy characters, and a few subtle romantic story arcs, make for a quite unforgettable book. This may be my first Holly Black read, but it definitely won’t be the last.



**An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.**

The Cruel Prince is the highly anticipated Young Adult Fantasy, I had read the synopsis of the book and was honestly looking forward to reading this book. When you are looking forward to reading a book there is always that slight worry that it won't live up to expectations, but this book lived up to and smashed by expectations. When I was reading this book I stop myself saying out loud 'Amaze Balls'. It's not the most elegant way to sum up my feeling with the book but I think it hits the mark.

The Cruel Prince follows Jade who at the age of seven watched her parents murdered, and with her two sister stolen away to live in The High Court of faerie by the General of the High King of Faeire army. Jade has been brought up and schooled with the gentry, but  some of the High Faeire do not like the fact a mortal is treated like the equal. One group in particular led by the beautiful and cruel Prince Cadran the youngest of the High Kings children. Jade is willing to do anything to prove herself and earn he place at the Court. Jade will have to lie, cheat, draw blood and in the end risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sister and stop Faeire Civil war before it starts.

As a twin I always find it interesting reading twin characters in book, I like the fact that both Taryn and Jade are different. That they are not carbon copies of each other, their priorities are very different, Jade wants to earn her place in court with her abilities, where Taryn wishes to marry into a position. Taryn will do what every she must to fit in, where Jade realises as a Mortal that she wont fits in and stops trying to.

I appreciate that Holly has taken a different approach to the look of faerie, they have the classic pointed ears, but they have other elements that mark them as Fae like having a body part that is more animal than human.

The story was captivating, fast paced with great drama and political intrigue. I was surprised by the ending of the book and desperately need the next book (I google and the next book is called The Wicked King and planed for 2019)

If you are a fan of books with Faeries and kick ass woman like Throne of Glass, A Court of Rose and Thorns, The Alex Craft Books, Paranormalcy. Than I would give this book a read.

I give this book 5 out of 5.



I do have a fondness for books with Faeries in, so I am surprised that I have not previously read any of Holly Black book, but I can see that changing in the future.

I always find Holly Black's books compelling at the time of reading but some are definitely more satisfying than others. I really loved the darkness of the Coldest Girl in Cold Town and The Darkest Part of the Forest but didn't rush to complete her other series - the last Curse Workers is still sat on my Wishlist and I only finished the Modern Faery Tales after reading this book.

The Cruel Prince is definitely Black at her twisty dark best. I adored this book. Jude and her sisters have been raised in Faery by the fae who murdered their parents, living as gentry in a world where other mortals are consorts at best, entertainers, or at worst ensorcelled servants. It's a dangerous world, especially for mortals who are defenceless against glamour, weaker and lack magic and there are plenty of people who don't believe Jude and her twin, Taryn, belong there at all and make their lives very difficult indeed. They cope in very different ways, Tarryn tries to fit in meekly accepting the taunting and bullying while Jude yearns for acceptance through her skill as a warrior whilst fighting back those who bully her, even when the bullies include Cardan, youngest son of the king.

So much happens in this book, and there are so many twists I'm not going to risk any spoilers, but if you like YA fantasy then you will love this book. It's full of betrayals and surprises and turns and heart stopping scenes with a real, palpable sense of menace throughout and if the sequel was available I would have been on it straight away!

Holly Black is the queen of YA fantasy and The Cruel Prince only cements her place in the monarchy. She doesn’t hesitate to write creepy, dark stories - no fluffy romances for her. Though there is a little bit of romance here, obviously- but it doesn’t detract from some seriously bad-ass female characters. A great addition to the faerie genre but a bit darker than most.

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

I definitely think Holly Black is one of my new favorite authors! This is the second book I've read by her now and I loved it. Her writing is amazing, its somewhat whimsical but also dark and magical. This story was truly compelling and as I neared the end I couldn't put it down.

I loved the world that Holly Black created in this book, as I did with The Darkest Part of the Forest. As I said before it was quite whimsical and magical but there were lots of darker elements too. Her world building was great and I really felt immersed in the world. The story itself was also great. For about the first half of the book there wasn't anything that really happened in the way of big plot points but this was okay. Her writing style more than made up for this and I was fully invested in the world that she had created. After the half way point things definitely started moving. The pace picked up and there were so many twists and turns. I didn't see any of them coming and I often found myself gasping from shock at the turn of events. Holly Black sure knows how to surprise her readers.

I loved the characters too. None of them were perfect they all had their own flaws but often morally grey characters are the best. Jude was a fantastic protagonist, she was ruthless but loyal to everyone around her, even Madoc who she really just wanted to hate! I also loved Cardan. Despite how he behaved towards Jude, he was horrible, there was just something compelling about him. I really shoudn't like him but I so do and I feel like I'm going to be rooting for him in the next book. I like that there wasn't a massive emphasis on romance either, but there was some there. I will also say that there is a bi character in this book, with a female female romance which was great.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, I was completely captivated throughout the story. It was dark with a twisty, turny plot that kept you on your toes until the very end. Full of a complete cast of morally grey characters that you just can't help loving. I cannot wait for the next one!

This a very good fantasy book that grows slowly on you. Not always easy, dark and, with complex relationship amongst the different characters.
I really like the way tha writer built a world with internal rules and the way she developed the growth of the different characters.
I am a fan of fantasy books with fairies but this one is a really good one and I was able to enjoy it even if I am in target.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Hot Key Books and Netgalley

It's been so long since I've been this pumped after reading a YA novel. Holly Black is the queen of producing beautiful but ever so juicy YA fantasy! This book was filled with literally everything I needed; action, drama, hijinks, betrayal, and plain cruelty, but laced with just the sweetest hint of romance that has me already hugely impatient to read the next chapter of the series.

I learned to both love and hate the characters as well as love to hate them, and was even surprised myself by some of the plot twists that I didn't see coming. It's hard not to be sucked into the world Jude has come to have to accept as her own, and Holly does a great job at keeping us on our toes throughout.

The complex characters, each consisting of their own flaws were so wonderfully crafted into this exciting tale of faerie politics and deceit. None of the characters here are trustworthy, nobody is perfect, which makes for an even more exciting and unpredictable story.

I imagine It's gonna be a long and painful wait for the next installment!

I was surprised by how hard I found it to get into this book. Normally, Holly Black is an author who can capture me instantly and keep me hooked on a book, but I didn't really get that until the end, which was amazing. I wonder if maybe it was because of what this book was leading up to. There wasn't really a lot of story other than survival until half way through and even then, it didn't really heat up until the last few chapters, so it felt a bit like a setting up book for the next one than an actual book in it's own right.

I liked that the obsession that Cardan has for Jude isn't romanticised. Throughout the book, he torments and abuses Jude and though it shown to come from feelings about her several times, it's never looked upon as something good. It's shown as love corrupted. It's like a hatred thing, he has such powerful feelings for her that he doesn't want to have that it turns into an intense hatred of her and until the end, she never sees it as anything but hatred and she continues to hate him through. I really hope this continues throughout the rest of the series and any relationship between them is shown as toxic and awful.

I also loved the way that everything was turned on it's head and nothing turned out to be as it seemed. I think the first half of the book felt too simple for me. It was too easy to see who the good guys were and who were the bad. Black showed that things are never that easy in faerie and the people you expect to be good will always betray you.

I'm looking forward to the next book, but I'm sad at how hard I found it to get into this one.

I love Fairy books (bit of a guilty pleasure) and The Cruel Prince from Holly Black was no exception. I am really glad that this is the first book in a series as I can't wait to see where she goes with it. Jude and her Identical twin sister have been bought up in the world of the Faerie along with their half faerie elder sister and it's a dangerous place for them. The level of cruelty they experience from their peers for being mortal is painful and humiliating and despite this being a fantasy setting Jude will be recognisable to many as a teenager struggling to figure out where she belongs while suffering at the hands of merciless and dangerous bullies.

The world and courtly politics are described well but it's the attention to the familial relationships that really come through. They are complicated but the bonds are strong in areas where they would normally be weak and vice versa and I can see these being developed in further books. Jude is a likeable character but did strike me as quite different to many of the YA 'heroine' types. I think it's because the author wasn't afraid to show her breaking down and giving in to her fear and pain occasionally. Not in the usual 'vulnerable teen girl' way but as someone who genuinely struggled to keep going day to day sometimes. The rest of the characters were well written and some were frankly unsettling in their levels of cruelty. Real baddies that wouldn't be out of place in an adult crime novel in some cases.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing where the story goes in the future books. I will be recommending this to many customers at the bookshop including quite a few friends who I feel would really enjoy it.

This book gave me two very different feelings; indifference and complete investment.

I was thankfully gifted The Cruel Prince as an ebook from Hot Key Books, and wasn't surprised at how much attention it got when I ran a poll with what books I should read while making the long journey to visit extended family over Christmas. It won by a landslide, and while Holly Black books are usually a hit or miss for me, I got excited at the thought of being whisked away to a faerie land where fairy is spelled like 'faerie' and the creatures of the land are not cute with magic wands and wings.

Unfortunately, that's not what I got in the first 67% of the book.

The Cruel Prince, to me, could not decide what kind of book it wanted to be. At first, it seemed like a self-aware novel; a faerie land living alongside the human realm, where the protagonist felt apart of both. She would shop with her sister at Target, say stuff like 'lighten up, jerk!' when in conflict with magical creatures, but then she would also ride a giant toad with a saddle around it and wear dresses made of leaves and feathers. Her step-father has green skin and her baby step-brother can glamour her into slapping herself until she's red in the face. I kind of liked it; Holly Black's novels always have the mundane and the strange walking side by side. It was the same with The Darkest Part of the Forest (which I adored) and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown (which was a bit meh) - like I said, Holly Black's books are a hit or miss.

This concept of Jude feeling out of place in both worlds went on for quite a long time, and didn't in fact stop. This, thrown in with being severely bullied by Carden (the cruel prince in question) and his awful friends also goes on for so long that I started to feel really uncomfortable. It got to the point where I felt like a bystander just letting it happen. I've never been bullied this severely, but I think I have a responsibility to say that if you're affected by seriously and severe bullying in entertainment you consume, and you're going to read this book, now you know.

This goes on for most of the book, and I found myself wanting to DNF it a few times. When I'm reading a book and I can feel myself wanting to put it down, I know it's not going well. I don't like to waste my time, and it felt like I was doing exactly that. But THEN, as it read 67% on my Kindle, when my mother was calling me in because the Sunday roast was ready, I couldn't stop reading!

The story completely turned around and the drama started, the political intrigue, the distrusting of characters all reared their beautiful heads. And it was like, where the hell were you all when the grip of my kindle was getting weaker and weaker? It's not a plot twist or anything, I'm not spoiling it when I say it got interesting, but it's a bit weird that I have to say that. The whole book should be interesting!

After tweeting about it a few times, I saw that I wasn't alone. Many felt like it was worth sticking to until the end where it leaves you wanting the next book as much as how you just wanted any other book when you began reading The Cruel Prince. So, if you're just starting out or even a third into it, keep going, there is something about this book that's meant for it to blow up in popularity come the second one.

In all honesty the main reason I requested this book from Netgalley was due to the high anticipation of many others. I knew very little about the premise and had heard amazing things about the writing of Holly Black, having never read any of her books before.

One thing I did know about this book was that it was centered about Faeries. I am a huge Faerie fan! Not knowing what to expect I found myself a little confused but hooked from the first chapter. This book was bloody and brutal and I loved it. The first chapter opens with gory murders and from the get go I knew this was a book I was with until the end.
The human characters in this story felt incredibly real and I found myself agreeing and understanding her choices and feelings. This book seemed to stray from the normal YA trend of human/Fae relationships, with some small dips into that but never taking away from the true story with it. The relationships between the characters were excellently formed and seeing some of their true traits revealed was brilliant. For me meeting a character and seeing them as the villain, only to be transformed into the hero type is my favourite!

This book deals with family, secrecy, theivery and royalty. A winning combination and a wonderful creation that has made me desperate to explore more Holly Black.

4/5 Stars!

I requested this title as an ARC from NetGalley on the strength of earlier reviews from other readers- but I kept my expectations lowered as a few books which others have loved turned out to be a disappoint. I am however delighted to report that for me, the Cruel Prince was an absolute delight and I enjoyed it immensely.

One of the main strengths of the book is the amount of world building- Holly Black crafts a deliciously dark Faerie, with no skimping on the little details that demonstrate the otherworldliness of this alternate universe. It’s a masterful exercise of “show, don’t tell”- although there is plenty of the latter too, as we see through the lens of the mortal Jude, a human in an alien realm. What’s more, Black manages to achieve this narrative trick without slowing the pace down too much. The story starts out with a brutally jarring scene that yanks us in headlong into the essential weirdness of Jude’s situation- layers and layers of wrongness overlaid by beauty- and Black rarely wrong foots the tone thereafter.

If I had one complaint, it would be that times I felt impatient with some of the protagonist’s choices although to be fair, Black does provide a strong motivation for Jude to behave as she does. Without giving anything away I was also not totally convinced by some of the more romantic sub-plots but this was a minor flaw on the whole.

As far as the ending, Black again performs a neat trick of both tying up some necessary threads but at the same time leaving us wanting much more. I’m anticipating the next instalment with great enthusiasm. In the meantime, I will be recommending this book highly to anyone with even a passing interest in fantasy- and maybe even to those who would not normally try such enchanted fruits.

Firstly thank you to Readers first and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.

This book is beautiful the illustrations are by Kathleen Jennings, we have a map! I love maps in books, it helps with the world building and following the characters on their journeys. There are illustrations on every chapter heading, they are whimsical and perfect for this book.

This story starts off dark, with the brutal murder of Jude’s mother and father which means herself and two sisters Taryn and Vivienne are kidnapped by Madoc – the redcap general of Faerie.

10 years later and the girls have been living in Faerie as Madoc’s children, Vivienne is Fey and Madoc’s biological daughter and will do anything to defy her father for the murder of her parents and will only be happy once she returns to the mortal lands. Jude and Taryn are making the best of their situation and trying to make their way in the land of Fey but it’s not easy being mortal. Jude wants to become a knight in the king’s council, with high ambitions she must prove herself not only to Madoc but to the next high king of Eldred.



“I have lied and I have betrayed and I have triumphed. If only there was someone to congratulate me.”

‘The Cruel Prince’ is told from the perspective of Jude, despite being kidnapped and taken to the land of Faerie, she longs to be one of them. She is smart,ambitious and rebellious but she has also caught the attention of Prince Cardan – the youngest of King Eldred’s children. Cardan and his cronies dislike the two mortal girls and start bullying them and glamouring them. Taryn just wants to hide away from them and let it all blow over but Jude will not back down making it worse for the both of them.

None of the characters in this book are likeable but they are definitely flawed and all have different qualities that they bring to the story. Prince Cardan was cruel (hence the title) he liked nothing more than to see people suffer. In the land Faerie no one could be trusted, they were switching sides, there were secrets and betrayal and lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing and made this an enjoyable read. There is quite a bit of political intrigue but not too much that it’s overwhelming.

Because the characters were unlikable I feel that no warmth come through the writing in parts when you expected some tension and romance. I also thought the world building was good and the map definitely helped but it didn’t knock my socks off.

This is first book in a trilogy maybe,not quite sure but I am definitely interested in revisiting this world and characters.

I rated this 3.5 out of 5 stars

You know when you finish a book and you just don't have any words for how good it was? That's me with this book. Even over two hours since I finished it, I don't know how to put into words what I feel about this book.

Holly Black is one of those authors I know I'll always be able to trust to write a good and compelling book, and The Cruel Prince is no different. After the prologue and first chapter hook you, t's perhaps a bit of a slow burn, but the pace picks up soon enough, and by about a quarter of the way through I couldn't put it down.

As per usual, the characters in this are wonderful, and Holly Black even had me changing how I felt about Cardan by the time the book was over. I'd still like him to have some more character development before (if) he embarks on a relationship with Jude (though after that ending my hopes of that aren't high), but he does start to develop as the book goes on (and there's another two books worth of time in which he can further).

My one (eensy-weensy) problem with the book is how the conflict between Jude and her twin sister, Taryn, comes about. Locke, one of Cardan's friends, starts hooking up with Jude. Meanwhile, Taryn is going to be proposed to by an unknown faerie at the High King's coronation. Firstly, it's blatantly obvious - or it was to me - that Locke is this unknown faerie. Secondly, Taryn knows Locke is playing Jude. She's aware of that. So forgive me if I don't feel any sympathy when she gets angry at Jude because Jude feels betrayed. Taryn knew everything that was happening with regard to that. And yet, instead of punching Locke in the gut like he deserves, she gets angry at Jude. I'm mostly annoyed about the fact that this is the way Holly Black feels the need to get conflict in between the twins. This. When she could have brought it about through a number of different ways - I mean, the whole book, Taryn is against Jude antagonising Cardan and his friends. Surely it's not hard to get the angst in through that.

But despite that part, I really really loved this book, and I don't have a clue how I'm going to manage to wait til 2019 for book two.

If not for the brilliant last 25% ending the book, I would seriously have no doubt my ARC copy was different to the one everyone else was reading prior to the publication. The ending of the book truly saved this whole venture for me- it was action packed, full of intrigue and interesting turns of events. And overall, I liked the plot… it’s solid and enjoyable and really gives the opportunity for different characters to act according to their role. The story arc flows nicely and without delays- all really good things to point out! I think the steady flow and nice pace was one of the strong points for me with this book.